Nifty solution there. I wonder if it could be slimmed down even further by letting them share one battery and one antenna. With some alligator clips or 3D-printed docks, you could wire both (or more) batteries in parallel. Just so that your Tx radio doesn't die long before your Rx. In order for them to share an antenna, you could run a duplexer. This would eliminate any saturation of the Rx antenna when the Tx signal is going off at 8 watts. I wish there were easier, more elegant solutions to the need for a low-cost repeater. Seems like your dual-handheld voice-activation solution is the way to go.
I've been making the same thing for our local SAR. I love that your concept is nearly identical to mine. Only a couple differences: Battery eliminators with a battery in the ammo can. I'm still fighting the constant TX when I plug in my cable. I'm using a "Mr Rex (2-Pack), 3.5mm to 2.5mm Audio Aux Replacement Cord" but think I'm going to have to try a different cable. I like the lapel mic cable idea! I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has found good cable options without hacking them together or apart.
@@PracticalTacticalSheepDog I'm just using the 12v (cigarette lighter style) battery eliminators for baofeng radios with the end cut off. I'm using a LiFePO4 battery. I'm still struggling with the continuous transmit loop.
@@tophattommy2 just bought a cable off eBay last night that claims to be 100% American made. Tried to post a link to it but RUclips keeps deleting it. The cable also comes with a chirp file with pre setup repeater channels
sure if this will ever be read but I tried this several times and no matter what I do, my TX goes hot immediately after the jack is plugged into the RX making the set up useless. No amount of trouble shooting has fixed this.
@@thriftyoperator637 Got it tanks. How did you secure the SMA M to the box? I am looking to use maybe a berral type connector but want to keep extra connections to a minimual.
Note...that if the receiver volume on the repeater is to High. It will cut out when you start to have more static due to noise "over load". Only turn the volume up +-1/4
Very ingenious! Great channel, it is very refreshing to see content so down to earth. You can get videos full of pretentious tactical elitism anywhere but your channel is a gem, keep up the great work and looking forward to more videos.
I do have some GMRS repeaters around. Not all of them are on my GMRS site and I don’t know them all. If I set up a repeater like this I would not want to interfere with common channels are you able to set up this style of repeater on slightly off frequencies in the GMRS frequency zone? Another words if there is another repeater transmitting on the frequency I picked to transmit on there will be a crossover, people hearing and trying to reply on a different repeater than the one I set up and vice versa.
“Simple” is the important word here. Yeah it would probably be better if the antennas were separated more but I don’t know why it would need a duplexer if both frequencies have their own antenna.
So I'm building the same idea using surecom crossover ptt cables but with my antennas close together all I'm getting is screeching and squeaking with some voice ....I'm I really going to need a duplexer/diplexer?
I have 4 UV-5R's, and I've tried this once before (different tutorial). It didn't work. I'm going to try this again tomorrow. Thanks for keeping it real simple and clearly explained. Two things I may have been doing wrong were having the 2.5mm and 3.5mm cables in the reverse order (I was getting a feedback?), and I think I may have set the offset at 000.600 on all 4 radios. You left a comment, for someone else below, that you only set the HT's with the offset, not the RX/TX used for the repeater. I would not have thought about taping the two radios together, if I really needed a functioning repeater, and the rubber duck on the RX makes perfect sense. I'm new at this, but slowly learning...and retaining! A rubber duck would be fine because the RX isn't workin' too much anyway, and as long as VOX is activated (on TX!), they would work taped face to face. Very cool. Two great points (for me anyway), to remember and try out - cable inputs and offset. Glad I saw this and watched it. I'll be back if it works for me! Thank you for sharing!!
Ok noob here i know vary lil I just have baofeng uv-82 and only ever used channel mode and me and my bud are wanting to be more prepared so we can communicate over longer distances would this still work.
@@WolfangStudios73 yea thats actualy the only reason taht crossband repeater controllers exist thats actually all they do because simplex repeaters also record voice but that is all they do and you also can find a few pcb layouts on the internet i also have seen a cuple hams do it on they`re own but then i would sugest to put that in a housing if you are fabricating your own one so that nothing shorts out. I hope that i could help 73`s From Germany
@@WolfangStudios73 oh and the reason that it ques the radio is that you have a trrrs (mic and speakrer in one plug) and the mic port is only designed for trs so the terminals in that plug are bigger so one of them covers both grounds meaning it starts to tx :)
@@WolfangStudios73 oh and great antennas they are so good for that hahah i use one on my bf and gonna get one for my brothers one i had a conversation 16km away with 1w farely well and 5 w sounded like i was talkting to a person that was standing 1m away
I experimented with cheap FRS radios and VOX. I didn’t do any range testing but I was able to get my GMRS HTs to communicate through my frs “repeater” No tones. Just had one FRS on 6, the other on 7 and tuned one GMRS to 6 and the other to 7.
Hey would this work to repeat the signal from my raspberry pi radio station? If so is there a different way I'm supposed to connect it or would it work the same?
Technically, it’s a repeater, but not a legal one. You need to announce your call sign every 10 minutes.... use a cheap voice recorder, put it on a loop and say your call sign twice with ten minutes apart through a split audio cable connection for the microphone. BOOM! Legal and cheap. lol
If this were to be more than a proof of concept and it were to actually be put into service wouldn’t it have to be registered and be assigned its own ID and that’s what it would repeat when it identifies itself?
@@thriftyoperator637 No, the only time you would have to be public is if you made your own digital mode for amateur radio. Even then, you can like post it on Twitter or Facebook and it still technically counts. Repeaters can get their own call sign when it’s part of a club and only the club trustee get sign up for the call sign for the club. You would only need to announce your call sign or the club call sign either in morse or voice for this to be technically legal every 10 minutes, as long as the radios don’t emit any harmful interference. Source: § 97.5(b)(2)
You can register your repeater on apps like Repeater book, not to be legal, but to share your repeater with more people. It’s all public info, so anyone can make a repeater, just as long as you’re a licensed ham. What’s even more fun is if you’re a General, you can receive a signal from Technician and they would be able to transmit it on HF like on 12 meter or above through your repeater as a General license operator despite only having a Technician license.
Oh, btw, this is not for GMRS repeaters. Ham radio is more fun. You’re not suppose to use those radios if you’re not a ham, even if you broadcast on gmrs frequencies. It has to be FCC approved for you to use those radios. Sorry buddy.
@@furonwarrior I'm sure you are right and that you have the best of intensions but I believe this is what makes lots of people not want to become a ham. There are lots of unlicensed people that dabble in radios without transmitting or causing any issues and most of them would go on to become hams if they continued to have interest in the hobby. Unfortunately, most loose interest because of the perceived ham culture. If all they've seen hams do is nitpick people online they may get the impression that hams are a little elitist. Please don't take this as me being buthurt over a comment because I do appreciate your input. I'm just saying honey would help the hobby grow more than vinegar.
Hi guys. I need some help. I have done the setup on the UHF frequency. The problem I have is that I can send perfectly over a long distance, but the person responding the channel opens but nothing comes through. What could that be?
Question here. So I have 2 radios and they get about a mille with good clear signal in a city area simplex mode. If I build a repeater like these u have done here , what is the range i will get ?
It depends on how high you can get the repeater. If you have it at the same level as the radios you could get up to double the simplex distance. Maybe 10-20 miles if you get it to the top of a taller building.
@@thriftyoperator637 ok so just programm the Rx frequency and Tx frequency on those 2 radios, put them in the box attached antennas and then grab my 2 set of radios and programd to those frequency with right offset and it will work?
@@thriftyoperator637 i will give it a try, I have 2 motorollas cp200 so I will be using those but I have to order my chirp cable first. I will come back and tell review ......I do have my gmrs and ham lisence btw👌
@@thriftyoperator637 when u programmed the Rx frequency on the repeater radio what do u program the offset for that radio 🤔 and also the Tx frequency radio what is the offset. You said u programmed the Rx radio and Tx radio but u dint say or programmed any offset . You only did it on the friend and the buddies radios witch I understand that
The digital could talk to the analog or the analog to digital depending on how you set it up but they couldn’t talk back and fourth. I think it would work fine as long as it was just one way.
Don't you have troubles because of the closeness of the antennas? I got a prebuilt connector for 2 radios, and when the repeater radios are close or the radios for the chat are close, is hard to have communication
CTCSS can be programmed via CHIRP (or manually through radio). As far as station ID, it'd probably have to be done manually (easiest), or using an IDOM4 with a separate power supply (best, but raises the cost). Hope this helps.
This is not how a repeater should be built. Those antennas need to be separated vertically and with a big gap in between. Why? Well because your transmitter will swamp your receiver (even though it’s on a different frequency) so your receiver won’t receive more than a few feet or so. Because of this I can tell you didn’t actually do a range test. I would do that before you go make a video about it. But otherwise the video was well done.
That's what I was asking....I've tried this and I heard some voice but mostly screeching and (screaming)....so I'm assuming a diplexer is what hes missing?
All you need now is a way to keep the batteries charged up. Also, this setup cannot be used legally. But for emergency purposes or "guerilla radio", why not?
If done with a license and on authorized bands for that license would it still be illegal? I have my technician license and I’m trying to do this same setup, I’m genuinely curious what would make it illegal
@@Dusther210 Talk to your local ham radio club about setting up and running a repeater legally. It is more comlicated and technical than this video lets you believe.
Nifty solution there. I wonder if it could be slimmed down even further by letting them share one battery and one antenna. With some alligator clips or 3D-printed docks, you could wire both (or more) batteries in parallel. Just so that your Tx radio doesn't die long before your Rx. In order for them to share an antenna, you could run a duplexer. This would eliminate any saturation of the Rx antenna when the Tx signal is going off at 8 watts.
I wish there were easier, more elegant solutions to the need for a low-cost repeater. Seems like your dual-handheld voice-activation solution is the way to go.
I've been making the same thing for our local SAR. I love that your concept is nearly identical to mine. Only a couple differences: Battery eliminators with a battery in the ammo can. I'm still fighting the constant TX when I plug in my cable. I'm using a "Mr Rex (2-Pack), 3.5mm to 2.5mm Audio Aux Replacement Cord" but think I'm going to have to try a different cable. I like the lapel mic cable idea!
I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has found good cable options without hacking them together or apart.
I'm also looking at a mini solar panel option to "tend" the battery.
What type of battery are you running?
Also what style battery eliminator are you using?
@@PracticalTacticalSheepDog I'm just using the 12v (cigarette lighter style) battery eliminators for baofeng radios with the end cut off.
I'm using a LiFePO4 battery. I'm still struggling with the continuous transmit loop.
@@tophattommy2 just bought a cable off eBay last night that claims to be 100% American made. Tried to post a link to it but RUclips keeps deleting it. The cable also comes with a chirp file with pre setup repeater channels
i would use the folding antennas from aliexpress, they are pretty good, they would fit inside the case
I'm new to the radio hobby, but I've gotta say this is the most helpful description of how to make a simple repeater I've seen!
sure if this will ever be read but I tried this several times and no matter what I do, my TX goes hot immediately after the jack is plugged into the RX making the set up useless. No amount of trouble shooting has fixed this.
Did you break the second pin off the plug like I did?
@Thrifty Operator I have. Even tried a cable specifically for this such project. No luck. My suspicion is that ground wire that was inside them.
@@jimboslam that’s strange. Have you tried using a different receive radio? Maybe the VOX is defective on that one.
What is your range with the repeater
I like it!
Can you post a link to the TX antenna your using. I like how it stores within the box.
It’s a RH901S. Just search that on eBay.
@@thriftyoperator637 Got it tanks. How did you secure the SMA M to the box? I am looking to use maybe a berral type connector but want to keep extra connections to a minimual.
@@c-jen8923 I just drilled a hole large enough for it to fit through and built up hot glue on the inside.
Note...that if the receiver volume on the repeater is to High. It will cut out when you start to have more static due to noise "over load". Only turn the volume up +-1/4
Very ingenious! Great channel, it is very refreshing to see content so down to earth. You can get videos full of pretentious tactical elitism anywhere but your channel is a gem, keep up the great work and looking forward to more videos.
Keep making these excellent videos man. You deserve more subs and viewers.
I do have some GMRS repeaters around. Not all of them are on my GMRS site and I don’t know them all. If I set up a repeater like this I would not want to interfere with common channels are you able to set up this style of repeater on slightly off frequencies in the GMRS frequency zone? Another words if there is another repeater transmitting on the frequency I picked to transmit on there will be a crossover, people hearing and trying to reply on a different repeater than the one I set up and vice versa.
I am not an expert but I think that you may be interfering with other allotted frequencies if you tried to program between the GMRS channels.
no duplexer? antennas close together? It cant work when you are far from the repeater. i dont think it would even work
“Simple” is the important word here. Yeah it would probably be better if the antennas were separated more but I don’t know why it would need a duplexer if both frequencies have their own antenna.
So I'm building the same idea using surecom crossover ptt cables but with my antennas close together all I'm getting is screeching and squeaking with some voice ....I'm I really going to need a duplexer/diplexer?
@@andrewdrake1211 have you tried lowering the volume of the receive radio?
I tried them both half way....definitely not one lower than the other ...I did the gmrs rubber ducky and abbree and nagoya antennas
@@andrewdrake1211 Have you tried talking to it from a distance to be sure it isn't feedback?
I have 4 UV-5R's, and I've tried this once before (different tutorial). It didn't work. I'm going to try this again tomorrow. Thanks for keeping it real simple and clearly explained. Two things I may have been doing wrong were having the 2.5mm and 3.5mm cables in the reverse order (I was getting a feedback?), and I think I may have set the offset at 000.600 on all 4 radios. You left a comment, for someone else below, that you only set the HT's with the offset, not the RX/TX used for the repeater. I would not have thought about taping the two radios together, if I really needed a functioning repeater, and the rubber duck on the RX makes perfect sense. I'm new at this, but slowly learning...and retaining! A rubber duck would be fine because the RX isn't workin' too much anyway, and as long as VOX is activated (on TX!), they would work taped face to face. Very cool. Two great points (for me anyway), to remember and try out - cable inputs and offset. Glad I saw this and watched it. I'll be back if it works for me! Thank you for sharing!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m no pro and it hasn’t worked for everyone so let us know how it turns out.
How'd it work? I built it 4 different ways. It doesn't transmit very far. If you need to gain 200 yards then you're golden.
Really love this simple yet effective idea
I have so much to learn.
Cool setup. The links for the cable is broken. Can you please repost it?
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll swap it tonight
The new link is up. This cable should connect the speaker port on the RX radio to the mic port on the TX radio.
@@thriftyoperator637 thank you!
how do you overcome the voltage difference between what a speaker requires at the volt level and the
milivolt input level needed for a microphone
Just turning down the volume worked for me
Ok noob here i know vary lil I just have baofeng uv-82 and only ever used channel mode and me and my bud are wanting to be more prepared so we can communicate over longer distances would this still work.
Yes as long as you can program repeaters
that key problem is cause the trs cable comons (shorts the grounds) and thats whats used to activate ur tx with the help of your speaker mics
Couldn't be too terribly hard, if you could set up some sort of relay, maybe something that detects audio on RX side. Be a project, that's for sure
@@WolfangStudios73 yea thats actualy the only reason taht crossband repeater controllers exist thats actually all they do because simplex repeaters also record voice but that is all they do and you also can find a few pcb layouts on the internet i also have seen a cuple hams do it on they`re own but then i would sugest to put that in a housing if you are fabricating your own one so that nothing shorts out. I hope that i could help 73`s From Germany
@@WolfangStudios73 oh and the reason that it ques the radio is that you have a trrrs (mic and speakrer in one plug) and the mic port is only designed for trs so the terminals in that plug are bigger so one of them covers both grounds meaning it starts to tx :)
@@gamingforlive2150 most interesting, I'll have to look into it! thanks and 73s from the US
@@WolfangStudios73 oh and great antennas they are so good for that hahah i use one on my bf and gonna get one for my brothers one i had a conversation 16km away with 1w farely well and 5 w sounded like i was talkting to a person that was standing 1m away
I experimented with cheap FRS radios and VOX. I didn’t do any range testing but I was able to get my GMRS HTs to communicate through my frs “repeater”
No tones. Just had one FRS on 6, the other on 7 and tuned one GMRS to 6 and the other to 7.
Hey would this work to repeat the signal from my raspberry pi radio station? If so is there a different way I'm supposed to connect it or would it work the same?
Sorry I haven’t played around too much with SDRs so I wouldn’t be the guy to ask
Set up to low power and use some ext antenna . Save battry and more range. Like roll up jpole.
Technically, it’s a repeater, but not a legal one. You need to announce your call sign every 10 minutes.... use a cheap voice recorder, put it on a loop and say your call sign twice with ten minutes apart through a split audio cable connection for the microphone. BOOM! Legal and cheap. lol
If this were to be more than a proof of concept and it were to actually be put into service wouldn’t it have to be registered and be assigned its own ID and that’s what it would repeat when it identifies itself?
@@thriftyoperator637
No, the only time you would have to be public is if you made your own digital mode for amateur radio. Even then, you can like post it on Twitter or Facebook and it still technically counts.
Repeaters can get their own call sign when it’s part of a club and only the club trustee get sign up for the call sign for the club.
You would only need to announce your call sign or the club call sign either in morse or voice for this to be technically legal every 10 minutes, as long as the radios don’t emit any harmful interference.
Source: § 97.5(b)(2)
You can register your repeater on apps like Repeater book, not to be legal, but to share your repeater with more people. It’s all public info, so anyone can make a repeater, just as long as you’re a licensed ham.
What’s even more fun is if you’re a General, you can receive a signal from Technician and they would be able to transmit it on HF like on 12 meter or above through your repeater as a General license operator despite only having a Technician license.
Oh, btw, this is not for GMRS repeaters. Ham radio is more fun.
You’re not suppose to use those radios if you’re not a ham, even if you broadcast on gmrs frequencies. It has to be FCC approved for you to use those radios.
Sorry buddy.
@@furonwarrior I'm sure you are right and that you have the best of intensions but I believe this is what makes lots of people not want to become a ham. There are lots of unlicensed people that dabble in radios without transmitting or causing any issues and most of them would go on to become hams if they continued to have interest in the hobby. Unfortunately, most loose interest because of the perceived ham culture. If all they've seen hams do is nitpick people online they may get the impression that hams are a little elitist.
Please don't take this as me being buthurt over a comment because I do appreciate your input. I'm just saying honey would help the hobby grow more than vinegar.
Hi guys. I need some help. I have done the setup on the UHF frequency. The problem I have is that I can send perfectly over a long distance, but the person responding the channel opens but nothing comes through. What could that be?
Not need a blower?
Are the audio ports/jacks TSR (3pole) or TS (two pole "mono") ?
Three I believe. Go watch my video on the u94 PTT. I have a figure that shows what they all are
@@thriftyoperator637 I can confirm that this standard TRS cable does not work with two UV-5R's (internal wiring is wrong).
Please, may i know those items that you use for this repeater setup? i want to do the same for a farm radio network. Thanks in advance.
I have links to materials in the video description.
@@thriftyoperator637 You don't list the radios you use for the repeater. You only list the UV5R.
@@SteveBerwick amzn.to/3v9JEd5 I could not find the ones I used by these are similar.
@@thriftyoperator637 Thanks for the quick reply. So you're saying it *should* work with 2 UV5Rs?
@@SteveBerwick yeah it should work with most radios
Does it mean that you don't have to get mast before you can set up your your repeater? Then how about programming
Ive been trying to affix the Peter peter to the top of the local water tower but someone keeps tattle-tailing on me
Do you have a source for the cable you used? Also your 5R link no longer works.
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll update it and add a link for the cable
Alrighty the new link should work
Awesome. Looking to build one of these soon.
Could work on gmrs and MURS ...and no hammy radio police had no say on it lok
You have lots of extra room in that box to add bigger batteries or even a solar charger
Question here. So I have 2 radios and they get about a mille with good clear signal in a city area simplex mode. If I build a repeater like these u have done here , what is the range i will get ?
It depends on how high you can get the repeater. If you have it at the same level as the radios you could get up to double the simplex distance. Maybe 10-20 miles if you get it to the top of a taller building.
@@thriftyoperator637 ok so just programm the Rx frequency and Tx frequency on those 2 radios, put them in the box attached antennas and then grab my 2 set of radios and programd to those frequency with right offset and it will work?
@@SuAmigoElilegal pretty much. Just make sure you have the cables hooked up properly. You’ll have to play with the volume of the receiving radio a bit
@@thriftyoperator637 i will give it a try, I have 2 motorollas cp200 so I will be using those but I have to order my chirp cable first. I will come back and tell review ......I do have my gmrs and ham lisence btw👌
@@thriftyoperator637 when u programmed the Rx frequency on the repeater radio what do u program the offset for that radio 🤔 and also the Tx frequency radio what is the offset. You said u programmed the Rx
radio and Tx radio but u dint say or programmed any offset . You only did it on the friend and the buddies radios witch I understand that
weird question could i have a analog radio on one side and a dmr radio on the other to make a analog to dmr repeater or vice versa?
The digital could talk to the analog or the analog to digital depending on how you set it up but they couldn’t talk back and fourth. I think it would work fine as long as it was just one way.
@@thriftyoperator637 thanks for the quick reply. I'm thinking of having one repeater set for TX and one for Rx. Will that be feasible?
@@amz2471 yeah I bet that would
@@thriftyoperator637 thanks dude. I'll update you on the results.
what would you call that cable???
I think it’s a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter
Don't you have troubles because of the closeness of the antennas?
I got a prebuilt connector for 2 radios, and when the repeater radios are close or the radios for the chat are close, is hard to have communication
A little. It’s helpst to have one mounted on the box and use a piece of coax to separate the second one
Can i use this to repeat AIS signal ais(automatic identified system)
Its coded signals vhf
I would think so
This is kool, not practical but still fun to try
How do you disable the always transmit issue? What exactly are you cutting?
The second prong on the kenwood plug. Look for the one that is missing
Hi can you tell me can you use the same channels on that radios and how far can you talk
You are not using the same frequencies. There is an offset for transmit. Distance depends on terrain.
Ever considered putting in an amplifier to increase the power?
Not really. I’d prefer to keep it simple.
Could you provide a link to the case that you put the two radios in?
Harbor Freight Protective Case
For what it's worth, there are HTs out there with cross band repeater capability. It would be 1 unit, 1 antenna.
Can you link any examples?
@@PyrateRumRunner There are several, but this should get you started... ruclips.net/video/gJB0qB0jBeg/видео.html
@@PyrateRumRunner Retevis RT23 for example :)
Does anyone know what antennas he is using? Thanks
amzn.to/42OSixm I think this is the one.
YEAH BY A BAOFENG
hey what about auto id? also PL Tone and ctcss
CTCSS can be programmed via CHIRP (or manually through radio). As far as station ID, it'd probably have to be done manually (easiest), or using an IDOM4 with a separate power supply (best, but raises the cost). Hope this helps.
Very cool
Is this what they use to steal cars?
I can’t see how this would help anyone steal a car.
This is not how a repeater should be built. Those antennas need to be separated vertically and with a big gap in between. Why? Well because your transmitter will swamp your receiver (even though it’s on a different frequency) so your receiver won’t receive more than a few feet or so. Because of this I can tell you didn’t actually do a range test. I would do that before you go make a video about it. But otherwise the video was well done.
That's what I was asking....I've tried this and I heard some voice but mostly screeching and (screaming)....so I'm assuming a diplexer is what hes missing?
@@andrewdrake1211pretty much. Diplexer would make it 1 antenna.
All you need now is a way to keep the batteries charged up. Also, this setup cannot be used legally. But for emergency purposes or "guerilla radio", why not?
If done with a license and on authorized bands for that license would it still be illegal? I have my technician license and I’m trying to do this same setup, I’m genuinely curious what would make it illegal
@@Dusther210 Talk to your local ham radio club about setting up and running a repeater legally. It is more comlicated and technical than this video lets you believe.
@@timbookedtwo2375 understood, thank you